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PNS Daily Newscast - November 19, 2018.

More than 1,200 missing in the California wildfires. Also on the Monday rundown: A pair of reports on gun violence in the nation; and concerns that proposed changes to 'Green Card' rules favor the wealthy.

Report: Bet on Family Ties for a Child's Success

A new report finds Wyoming needs to do more to ensure kids in the child welfare system are placed with foster families, instead of group homes or institutions. Credit: pixabay.com.

May 19, 2015

CHEYENNER, Wy. - Wyoming is noted in a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation as having a high rate of child welfare placements outside of family settings, a report which makes the case that more work needs to be done to ensure a foster family or extended-family care.

Twenty-seven percent of kids in state custody in Wyoming end up in group homes or institutions. Nationally, it's 14 percent. Tracey Feild, director and manager of the Casey Foundation's Child Welfare Strategy Group, labels the report a "wake-up call" on how to best care for vulnerable young people.

"Kids who live in families, supported through tough times, have the best chance for life success," says Feild. "Separating children unnecessarily from families exacts too high a price in both human terms and taxpayers dollars."

The report recommends Wyoming work on expanding the foster family pool, invest more in programs to help strengthen families to prevent problems, and place strict time limits and qualifications on institutionalized care.

The report finds teens are less likely to be put in foster families and they need the secure connections and safe environments during that risky time. Feild says there has to be a fundamental shift in how we think about children when they are removed from their homes.

"We do our best for children today and into the future when we work to keep them at home whenever possible, safely of course, with their parents and/or caring relative or foster family," she says.